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Poultry waste plant permit bid pulled

A company seeking state approval for a new plant to process poultry industry waste at an industrial park near the Delaware Memorial Bridge has pulled its Coastal Zone Act permit application after state regulators noted “irregularities” in the request at a public hearing process in October.

The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control reported Monday that Green Recovery Technologies LLC is expected to reapply in January for a new industrial permit in the state’s protected Coastal Zone.

Both the Green Recovery and DNREC erred in decisions affecting changes or public information availability as the company’s Coastal Zone Act permit hearing approached, agency Secretary David Small said in a letter to the company.

“Mistakes were made [by both parties] that unfortunately now limit my options and render it likely that the pending application will be denied for procedural reasons,” Small wrote.

Green Recovery initially sought a permit for a process that would extract proteins and fats from partially rendered poultry processing plant wastes, with the output to be used by the pet food industry. The company initially said it would handle about two truckloads of waste daily, heating the wastes in a closed tank with a solvent to separate proteins and fat-containing liquids.

Details on the solvent, dimethyl ether, were not included in the company’s public application, and other material safety information also was omitted, DNREC officials said. The company also built its “proposed” facility at 42 Lukens Drive in the Riveredge Industrial Park north of New Castle without state approval before the application review, although it was not in regular operation.

In October, a company official noted that operating plans had “changed significantly” since its initial application, with fats to be sold for bio-diesel production and proteins sold for aquaculture.

The plan was met with skepticism by some community and environmental groups wary of any new large-scale waste processing in the area. DNREC earlier this year ordered the shutdown of a large-scale food-composting site near the Port of Wilmington after years of complaints that odors drifted for miles from the operation. Burdens were heaviest in economically disadvantaged and moderate-income communities in the south Wilmington area.